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Peace or a Sword?
by Father Al Jenkins
The Bible tells us that Jesus is the Prince of Peace.
In Isaiah 9:6 we hear the beautiful Christmas words, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the
government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
In the Holy Communion we hear, "Sanctify us also that
we may faithfully receive this Holy Sacrament, and serve you
in unity, constancy, and peace..."
In our closing prayer, we say, ..."Send us now into the
world in peace..."
In our dismissal, we say, "Go in
peace to love and serve the Lord."
In the Bible, Jesus
said to Peter, after he hurt someone in the Garden of Gethsemane, But, in Matthew 10:34 we hear these very different words - Jesus said, "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword." That is the translation many of you have in your contemporary Bibles, most of which appeared since 1973. Here is the same verse in the Authorized King James Version of 1611, which is closer to the original Hebrew and Greek languages.
Jesus said, "Do not think that
I am come to send peace to the earth;
I came not to send peace,
but a sword." Because so
many people use this verse to practice militant Christianity,
please allow me to share a couple of points on this:
So, the verse
Matthew 10:34 can now be accurately interpreted to say, Now, the whole 10th chapter of Matthew can be understood in its context - Jesus sends God's Word by way of the disciples. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 35
For I am come to set
a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against
her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
36
And a man's foes shall
be they of his own household.
37
He
that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me:
and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy
of me.
38
And he that taketh
not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
For over 2000 years God's word has been carried
to almost every part of the earth. It has made these differences: In
some families, one spouse will be closer to Christ than the other,
one child closer to Christ than the parents, one friend closer
to Christ than another, one employer closer to Christ than another.
To
overcome the differences that different levels of spiritual growth
cause, one must not be mean. One must apply God's solution
in Galatians 5:22-23a
But the fruit of
the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness,
faith, meekness, and temperance... One spring
afternoon, a man went home to find two little girls on the steps
of his building. Both were crying hard, shedding big tears. Thinking
they might be hurt, he dropped his briefcase and quickly went
over to them. "Are you all right?" he asked. Still
sobbing, one held up her doll. "My baby's arm came off," she
said. He took the doll and its disjointed arm. After a little
effort and luck, the doll was again whole. "Thank you." came
a whisper. Next looking into the tearful eyes of her friend,
he asked, "and what's the matter with you, young lady?" She
wiped her cheeks and said "Nothing, I was just helping her
cry." Caring is so important when we have differences in our families and friendships! One of the best quotes I have ever heard is this, "A woman's heart should be so lost in God that a man should seek Him in order to find her." It should be so among all people,
especially in families. |
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